One of the most selective medical schools in the United States (based on analysis by U.S. News & World Report), Cornell enrolls approximately 100 students per class. In 2015, 6,183 persons applied, and 800 were interviewed for only 106 seats. For the Class of 2022, the average undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores for successful applicants were 3.85 and 518, respectively. The college is named after benefactor and former Citigroup chairman Sanford Weill.

Transcription

I was born with a condition called fibular hemimelia
Which means I was born without a fibula bone in my leg
Growing up as an amputee, I’ve always been
aware of the differences between myself and others
These differences left me with a desire to
overcome challenges and also opened my path
to becoming a scientist.
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
My Mom and my little sister have been my biggest
sources of support.
In high school, my disability inspired me
to conduct a study through the Intel Science
Talent Search.
I studied the differences in positive body
image between congenital and non-congenital
amputees.
This was my first foray into scientific
research, and I fell in love.
After graduating from college, I started working
as a research tech at Weill Cornell
Medicine.
That experience helped me cement my desire
to continue working in an academic research
environment.
I realized that getting a PhD could open more
doors for my scientific career
When I started graduate school at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences
I knew right away that
I wanted to work in the lab of Dr. Kirk Deitsch,
studying Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite
that causes malaria.
My research studied how the malaria parasite
repairs its DNA, and what proteins are essential
to that process.
I have been lucky to have two great thesis
mentors: Dr Kirk Deitsche and Dr. Laura Kirkman
Kirk and Laura have created such a supportive and collaborative research environment.
"... the infected red cell, so put the parasite in there.
These guys are all sitting in here..."
While pursuing my PhD, I was one of the leaders
of the Tri-Institutional Minority Society,
which works to mentor talented minority undergraduates
in biomedical research.
I believe that the best scientific research
requires people of diverse backgrounds.
I am going to be working at Novartis
in Cambridge, studying oncology.
The skills that I learned at Weill Cornell in parasitology
will now translate
to my research in cancer diagnostics.
I am proud to be a scientist changing the
face of scientific research.

Contents

History

The school was founded on April 14, 1898, with an endowment by Col. Oliver H. Payne. It was established in New York because Ithaca, where the main campus is located, was deemed too small to offer adequate clinical training opportunities. James Ewing was the first professor of clinical pathology at the school, and for a while was the only full-time professor.[3][4][5]

A branch of the school operated in Stimson Hall on the main campus. The two-year Ithaca course paralleled the first two years of the New York school. It closed in 1938 due to declining enrollment.[6]

NewYork–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell

In 1927, William Payne Whitney's $27 million donation led to the building of the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, which became the name for Cornell's large psychiatric effort. That same year, the college became affiliated with New York Hospital and the two institutions moved to their current joint campus in 1932. The hospital's Training School for Nurses became affiliated with the university in 1942, operating as the Cornell Nursing School until it closed in 1979.[6]

In 1998, Cornell University Medical College's affiliate hospital, New York Hospital, merged with Presbyterian Hospital (the affiliate hospital for Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons). The combined institution operates today as NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital. Despite the clinical alliance, the faculty and instructional functions of the Cornell and Columbia units remain distinct and independent. Multiple fellowships and clinical programs have merged, however, and the institutions are continuing in their efforts to bring together departments, which could enhance academic efforts, reduce costs, and increase public recognition. All hospitals in the NewYork–Presbyterian Healthcare System are affiliated with one of the two colleges.

Also in 1998, the medical college was renamed as Weill Medical College of Cornell University after receiving a substantial endowment from Sanford I. Weill, then Chairman of Citigroup.[6] In 2015, it renamed itself to simply Weill Cornell Medicine to reflect an expansion of focus beyond the medical school.[7]

Profile

While similar to other medical schools, Weill Cornell is different in some important respects. Weill Cornell's administrative connections are complex. Its primary teaching hospital is NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, which has two medical centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

Weill Cornell has also opened the first American medical school to be located outside of U.S. borders. The Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar opened for instruction in 2004. Its facilities are found in Education City, Qatar near Doha. The Qatar campus offers a six-year integrated medical education program primarily focused on patient care. The campus in Doha has led to criticism due to Qatar’s specific interpretation of Shari'a Law and lack of first amendment rights that are so important in U.S. universities.[8][9] Cornell has also received criticism for this campus due to Qatar's support of international terrorism groups such as Hamas and ISIS.[9][10][11] Weill Cornell has also been actively involved in the development of the Weill Bugando Medical College in Mwanza, Tanzania.[12]

New York-Presbyterian Hospital is a member of the Planetree Alliance, a nonprofit association of health-care institutions set up to promote practices to make patients less intimidated and more comfortable with the health care they receive.